Like to Save $786,346?

[digitS']

The "tobacco cost per smoker" is $786,346 in South Carolina, the least expensive state in the nation to smoke a pack of cigarettes per day.

In fact, time.com reports on a study that estimates a potential individual savings growing to $1,097,690 with investment in the stock market instead of the tobacco fields. In South Carolina, the least expensive state to smoke in the nation!

Oh, they must be doing those smoke & mirrors things with health care costs, lost productivity, etc. No. Just a lifetime of buying a pack a day.

As if the drain on an individual's resources isn't enough, here is a new story on an Australian study on "The terrifying rate at which smokers die from smoking."

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

As an engineer I used numbers all my working life. You can do some amazing things with numbers. What assumptions you use makes a world of difference. How they handle inflation and the time value of money makes a huge difference, actually most of the difference. What was a dollar worth in 1915 versus what you can buy with it today. That is a real difference but how you handle that makes the numbers get out attention.

They did not say what the cost of a pack was in South Carolina but assume $5.00 per pack. This is a really simplified calculation but if you invest this amount spread over 51 years you will come up with a huge number from interest earned and inflation.

365 days per year x 51 years x $5.00 a day = $93,075

$5.00 per day for 51 years @ 2% interest, compounded annually = $157,000

$5.00 per day for 51 years at 2% interest, compounded daily = $160,000

$5.00 per day for 51 years @ 5% interest, compounded annually = $397,000

$5.00 per day for 51 years @ 5% interest, compounded daily = $425,000

$5.00 per day for 51 years @ 8% interest, compounded annually = $1,117,000

$5.00 per day for 51 years @ 8% interest, compounded daily = $1,308,000

Your assumptions do make a difference. This does not even look at inflation.

 

[digitS']

RidgeRunner, when I first took a standardized test in the 8th grade and scored "average" in math, it didn't bother me a bit. I still look back at that in some amazement (& annoyance with my 8th grade self ) . But, that orientation lingers ...

I also remember something about your upbringing. My dad quit smoking when he was about 50. You probably never met such an anti-smoking character as he was after that. It may partly have been because both his sons had taken up tobacco by then.

I finally put tobacco down for good about 10 years earlier in life than he did. Guess there was some pressure from the Olde Man ... he was 97 this current month, btw.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

I smoked for 25 years before I quit for good. The first time, after 23 years, was actually pretty easy, I just quit, but my wife still smoked. After a couple of years I started again. The second time I quit was real hard, but she quit too so the temptation to start back was a lot less. Now when I even smell the smoke I get sick to the stomach. I don't think I'm in any real danger of starting back up. All that was a long time ago.

I'd met some pretty strong anti-smoking characters. Some were people that felt it was politically correct to be really obnoxious to smokers. Rude, crude, and not at all polite people to smokers. Some were people that had quit. I can understand why an ex-smoker would feel that way but I've tried hard to no be like that.

When Dad stopped smoking he took up chewing, another nasty habit. My position in the family car was in the back seat right behind him. We had 4-40 air conditioning, four windows down at 40 miles per hour. I could not relax back there. Any time Dad turned to spit out the window I had to duck.

Our cash crop was Burley tobacco. Every year we'd get about $1000 for that crop, about half of our annual income before he took a factory job. The other half was from selling calves.

 

[digitS']

I never got to the sick to my stomach stage, RR.

Depends, sometimes it will just lift me off my feet like a Saturday morning cartoon character. I'm still in the resentful, childishly jealous stage ...

So Lucky , I passed the "where's my cigarettes" stage but it took me years. Years!

Cows and calves? Us too. Dad tried to get into dairy by moving his family to one for a couple of years then heading off on his own with the Guernseys, etc. The Hereford bull showed up after awhile, tho'.

I guess we should have waited for the artisan cheese ideas to take off. I did some reading recently about the creamery that used to buy our milk. Dad was only about 50 years too early.

Steve

 

[Nyboy]

I smoke 2 1/2 packs aday price $14.08 a pack in ny

 

[thistlebloom]

Whoa. Why are cigs so much more in New York @Nyboy ?

You seriously need to quit! just think of what you could do with all that extra money, and your lungs will thank you!

 

[digitS']

@Nyboy @digitS'

Don't make me have to completely quit coffee as a challenge for you to drop the tobacco. Pleeease!

Steve

 

[buckabucka]

I heard the guy who wrote the book "Spring Chicken" on the radio last night. He said -"sitting is the new smoking". Guess I'd better go walk around some more.....

 

[ninnymary]

I smoke 2 1/2 packs aday price $14.08 a pack in ny

Nyboy, are you saying you spend $35.20 a day on cigarettes? That is a lot of money! I don't even want to multiply it by 365 days. You could buy a lot of plants/trees and other stuff with that. Please try to quit for your health.

Mary